The Present Tense

1. What is the present tense?

The present tense is used to describe things that are true:

a) things that are true now
b) things that are always or generally true
c) schedules
d) opinions

2. How do you make the present tense?

To make the present tense:

subject + verb (in present simple form)
*objects, times etc. can be added if needed

The present simple form must conjugate with the subject. This means adding an ‘s’ when using ‘he’, ‘she’ or ‘it’:

I/you/it/we/they + verb (no s)
He/she/it + verb (+ s)

3. Examples of present simple verb forms

no s
I am*You are*We are*They are*
I likeYou likeWe likeThey like
I eatYou eatWe eatThey eat
I wantYou wantWe wantThey want
I takeYou takeWe takeThey take
I buyYou buyWe buyThey buy
I useYou useWe useThey use
I doYou doWe doThey do
I goYou goWe goThey go
I haveYou haveWe haveThey have
+ s
He is*She is*It is*
He likesShe likesIt likes
He eatsShe eatsIt eats
He wantsShe wantsIt wants
He takesShe takesIt takes
He buysShe buysItbuys
He usesShe usesIt uses
He doesShe doesIt does
He goesShe goesIt goes
He hasShe hasIt has

*Note: ‘be’ is a special verb that uses ‘am’/ ‘is’ / ‘are’

4. Examples of the present simple tense

things that are true nowthings that are always or generally trueschedulesopinions
I am 22 years old.Bananas are yellow.English class is on Tuesday afternoons.

That is not right.
I like chicken. Ice melts in the sun. I have a meeting tomorrow.
I believe you.
She has long, red hair. Cats like to sleep. I wake up at 7 30. He is an idiot.
The chair is in the kitchen. Berlin is the capital of Germany.He brushes his teeth every night. I think bears are cuter than dogs.

5. Test yourself

Click here to test your knowledge of this grammar point.